United Arab Emirates at the 2016 Summer Olympics | |
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IOC code | UAE |
NOC | United Arab Emirates National Olympic Committee |
Website | olympic |
in Rio de Janeiro | |
Competitors | 13 in 6 sports |
Flag bearer | Nada Al-Bedwawi[1] |
Medals Ranked 78th |
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Summer Olympics appearances (overview) | |
United Arab Emirates competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's ninth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics.
The United Arab Emirates National Olympic Committee selected a team of 13 athletes, 9 men and 4 women, to compete in six different sports at the Games.[2] The nation's full roster in Rio de Janeiro was half the size of the delegation sent to London (26 athletes), and had the largest share of female athletes in its Summer Olympic history.
The Emirati roster featured five naturalized athletes: three Moldovan-born judokas Victor Scvortov, Sergiu Toma, and Ivan Remarenco, and two Ethiopian-born runners Alia Saeed Mohammed and Betlhem Desalegn.[3] Other notable athletes on the Emirati team included skeet shooter Saeed Al-Maktoum, who competed at his fifth consecutive Games as the most experienced member, and freestyle swimmer Nada Al-Bedwawi, who was selected by the committee, as the youngest member (aged 19), to carry the Emirati flag in the opening ceremony.[1][2]
United Arab Emirates left Rio de Janeiro with its first Olympic medal since double trap shooter Ahmed Al Maktoum topped the podium in Athens 2004. It was awarded to three-time judoka Toma, who took the bronze in men's half-middleweight category (81 kg).[4]